How does the brain decide "what" thought to attach to a feel...

I’m really confused as to why “what” is in quotes, so it’s possible I misunderstand the question.

We don’t yet have an answer from neuroscience. The best I can do is give you an anecdotal answer based on my years of meditative introspection. (I meditate for two hours every day.) For what it’s worth, I’ve heard many other longterm meditators give similar answers.

When thoughts aren’t reflections of sensations (e.g. a thought about you’ve felt in your body, seen, heard, or imagined feeling, seeing, or hearing), they are reflections on other thoughts. We often have long chains of thoughts about thoughts about thoughts about thoughts… An example might be “… and the reason I’m sad is …”

I’m wondering about attachment and transference with the therapist and the idea of escape and fantasy? How much do you think your strong feelings, constant thoughts, desires to be with your therapist are a way to escape from your present life? I wonder if the transference serves another purpose than to show us our wounds and/or past experiences, but is a present coping strategy for managing what we don’t want to face (even if unconsciously) in the present—-current relationships, life circumstances, etc. Can anyone relate to this concept of escape in relation to their therapy relationship? How does this play out for you?

The thought seems to be the mind’s attempt to interpret the body sensation. “Oh, there are tears running down my cheeks. I must be sad …”

A feeling (an emotion) is a body sensation swiftly followed by a thought. So swiftly that, without practice, they seem to come at the same time. In fact, without practice, it’s hard to see that’s what they are. We just call them “sadness,” “joy,” “anger,” and so on.

How does the brain decide "what" thought to attach to a feeling?

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